Militants plotted 2nd wave of UK bombs: Court

London, Jan 16: An Islamist cell tried to carry out suicidebombings on London's transport system just two weeks after attacks thatkilled 52 people and wounded about 700, a prosecutor said today.

The ''extremist Muslim plot'' was not a hastily arranged copycatscheme but a long-planned operation, chief prosecutor Nigel Sweeneysaid as six British men went on trial over the failed attacks of July21, 2005.

He said the attackers aimed to cause maximum injury by detonatinghome-made bombs packed with metal, which they carried in rucksacks ontothe public transport system.

''It was simply the good fortune of the travelling public that they were spared,'' Sweeney told the court.

The targets -- three underground trains and a bus -- echoed thosein the deadly attacks by four young British Muslims who blew themselvesup in London two weeks earlier, on July 7, 2005.

The failed second set of attacks caused panic and triggered a hugemanhunt, leaving Londoners unclear if they were a botched and quicklyassembled attempt to imitate the original carnage.

But Sweeney told the high-security Woolwich Crown Court: ''Theevidence in this case shows that this conspiracy had been in existencelong before the events of July 7.'' The six men are all originally fromAfrica and in their 20s.

Sweeney said the ninth-floor flat of defendant Yassin Hassin Omarin north London was the bomb-making factory. The detonator wastriacetone triperoxide (TATP) and the main charge was held in bucketssurrounded by screws, tacks, washers and nuts.

''The purpose is, of course, to increase fragmentation when thebomb explodes and maximise the possibility of injury, fatal orotherwise, to those in the vicinity,'' Sweeney told the court.

Failed to Explode

Sweeney said the five kg bombs were made ofhydrogen peroxide, nail varnish and flour used to make chapatis, orunleavened bread.

They were carried in rucksacks with wires connected to the detonators hidden under clothing.

He said that between May 9 and July 5, the group bought 442 litresof hydrogen peroxide. One supplier sold them 218 litres, nearly half ofits total sales of the chemical in that period.

Sweeney said four of the defendants successfully fired their TATPdetonators but the main charge failed to explode, possibly because theproportion of hydrogen peroxide was not quite right.

TATP is an explosive chemical which can be made from commonlyavailable household products. Nicknamed ''Mother of Satan'', it ishighly volatile and liable to explode prematurely if subjected tofriction, impact or change of temperature.

All the main suspects on trial were apprehended just over a week after the failed attacks.

Muktah Said Ibrahim, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, Hussein Osman, YassinHassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Adel Yahya are all charged withconspiracy to murder. They deny the charges.

The prosecutor said Osman had told police after being arrested inItaly that the bombings were a deliberate hoax to make a politicalpoint. Sweeney rejected the ''hoax'' defence.

Sweeney said Mohammed was seen trying to set off his bomb facing awoman with a pushchair and was wearing a top with New York on it, ''nodoubt connected with the events of 9/11''.

He said home-made films featuring images of beheadings of Westernhostages and other attacks, including those on September 11 in NewYork, were found in two of the defendants' flats.

They are also accused of ''conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property''.

Reuters >